09.09.2010

Déborah is 20 years old. She is married to Djobo. The couple lives in the village of Guiguiso, in northern Benin. During the night of September 9, 2009, three men assaulted the couple while they slept, left the husband bleeding and unconscious, took Deborah away, and then raped her. After the husband regained consciousness, he alerted the village.

The EMPOWER coordinator who lives in the village, promptly informed the police commissioner and project facilitator in the near-by town of Bassila. Before sunrise, the entire population of Guiguiso dashed out in pursuit and caught the criminals. In Benin, more than 70 percent of women are victims of violence and at least 15 percent are raped. Since 2007, under the Presidential Initiative for Women Justice and Empowerment, WJEI, USAID works to reduce violence against women and girls in all of Benin’s 77 municipalities. A first objective is to promote greater recognition and acceptance of the rights of women in Benin and second, to get more women who are victims of violence to seek help from the social service centers and from the justice system. Through the EMPOWER project implemented by CARE International, USAID supports the Benin Government’s Social Service Centers (CPS) and local NGO partners, where an increasing number of women victims of violence seek psychological, medical, judicial and emergency financial assistance. With the help of the project coordinator, the Guiguiso victims sought medical attention from the Bassila hospital. Medical certificates in hand, they went to the police commissioner. After hearing the accused, the victims and the witnesses, the commissioner presented the case to the prosecutor. Today, the three accused wait in prison for their trial.

From November 2007 to September 2010, the U.S. Government helped 1,500 cases of physical and sexual violence to be presented before Beninese courts. As it is very difficult for Beninese women to press charges against the men who abused them, this is more than 10 times the number planned for the life of the project. “Before”, a Beninese judge said, “we would attempt and resolve cases of gender violence “amicably” and out-of-court. This is no longer possible because of EMPOWER, which helps the victims understand and pursue their case in the court system , and mounting pressure from the media, which act as essential partners in the cause of women justice.” “The injury we suffered as a result of this gang rape may pass with time,” Deborah said several weeks after the assault, “but I dare not imagine what life would be for my husband and me, had we not received help from EMPOWER, all the way from the hospital, the police station, and down to the prosecutor’s office to press charges.” Submitted by the EMPOWER project, implemented by CARE International.